


Memento Mori

by MilayaMilenZeal



Series: Long Live the Queen [28]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Delayed 50th birthday, Dreaming, M/M, Post-Game(s), Pounding headaches, celebration
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-30
Updated: 2017-05-30
Packaged: 2018-11-06 18:05:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11041440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MilayaMilenZeal/pseuds/MilayaMilenZeal
Summary: M.E. 786It’s been so many years, and Prompto only now decides that a celebration is in order. However, things don’t end the way he had expected it to. Typical…





	Memento Mori

When the year M.E. 786 rolls in, it becomes instantly apparent to everyone. From January 2nd onward, everyone is celebrating, in their own way, some more extravagantly than others, but there’s no denying that the mood to party is there. Prompto isn’t even sure why that is until Ignis helps remind him.

It’s been 20 years since the dawn returned…

It’s been 20 years since his best friend and lover died to give them back their lives…

And it’s been 20 years since the last time he ever saw Noctis Lucis Caelum…

The knowledge hits Prompto hard, and he almost breaks down then and there because of it, right in front of his little girl….

Well, ‘little’… she’s almost 19 already. He can’t really keep calling her ‘little’, but he still does it every time. Because no matter what, he’ll always think of her as his baby girl.

But, really, right now, their biggest concern is the celebrations. There’s a good chance that the celebrations will keep going for the whole year, and Prompto isn’t entirely sure if he likes it or not. On one hand, he appreciates that people still acknowledge Noctis as their King, savior, and as someone worth remembering… but on the other hand it hurts to _remember_ how Noct had been forced to sacrifice himself for everyone else, and he didn’t think anyone even realized just how… _unfair_ it was.

And then, as the days of the years continued to drag on, Prompto has an epiphany, and, after gathering up all of his courage, he confronts the others and admits the one thing he’s never told any of them; the fact that he and Noct had been a couple all those years ago. Iris seems to be the most surprised, clearly not having expected him to have been going with Noct when she’s only known him to be hitting on girls, and Gladio almost chokes on his drink, but Ignis doesn’t even make a noise as he finishes his own drink.

Once everyone’s had some time to process that, he brings up something he wishes to do… and probably _should’ve_ done last year, if not much sooner. And, of course, everyone agrees with him about his plan, and they begin their preparations in June.

 

It’s a few days before the “main event” that Prompto calls his daughter, as she’s in the middle of a hunting/camping trip with her friends.

“ _August 30? …Yeah, I think we can make that… is something wrong?_ ”

“No, sweetie, nothing’s wrong… just… I’ll explain when you get here, okay?”

“ _…Okay, now you’ve got me curious, Dad… We’ll be there._”

He smiles at the words. “Great. We’ll see you then, princess. I love you.”

“ _Love you, too, Dad._ ”

Prompto smiles as he walks over to where Gladio had been busy getting all the ingredients they would need for Ignis to prepare all the dishes he intends to make on that day. Of course they could go shopping like two days before or so, but Ignis wants to be absolutely sure that all ingredients will be accounted for on time so there’d be no need to go around rushing to collect what they needed. And he supposes the old advisor has a point, but at the same time, it doesn’t change the fact that they’re rushing _now_.

Even so, Prompto isn’t about to complain; he wants the day to be something that they can look back on in a few years with pride and, maybe, a hint of enjoyment… even if it will end up hurting him when he does think back on it.

When they’ve got everything set, they return to Prompto’s house, and then it’s only a matter of waiting…

 

Once the day arrives, Prompto is already awake and preparing for their own little “celebration” by 5 in the morning. Ignis arrives at 8 and begins the tedious task of preparing the planned dishes, and Gladio and Iris arrive at 10, where they begin to set up the last of the decorations that Prompto hasn’t been able to do by himself.

And just as they finish up, Regina and her friends walk in the door at 10:30 sharp.

“Good morning~” Domi greets as they step into the living room, seeming to be the only one not phased/surprised by the party decorations. However, he does sniff at the air curiously. “ _Mmmm~_ Something smells _good_ ,” he says with a smile.

“…Um… are we missing something, Dad?” Regina asks as she walks over to him, while Libby heads to the kitchen (probably to assist Ignis), as Terry flops onto the couch and starts munching on some of the chips set up on the table.

“Well, I suppose so…” Prompto admits, because, really, he’s partially to blame for this. “I probably shouldn’t have postponed it as long as I have… but, today is your Father’s birthday.”

Regina’s eyes widen almost comically at the news, before a hint of worry enters her gaze and she actually looks around the room, to the others. He can guess why that is; despite how Regina had referred to Noct as her “Father” for years, she’s never brought it up in front of anyone aside from that one time when she was 6 years old.

“It’s okay, sweetie; they know,” he assures her, lightly putting a hand on her shoulder. When she looks at him, she seems a bit unsure, but she eventually relaxes and smiles back at him.

Domi, though, blinks curiously from where he had been  standing, seemingly confused. “Um, wait… I thought your birthday was in October, Mr. Argentum…?” he gets out, and Prompto almost laughs at the formality – _again!_ Domi just can’t seem to be informal with him --  but it’s Regina who answers.

“It is, but this isn’t for him, Domi,” she says with a smile. “This is for Father.”

“But isn’t…?” Domi starts, pointing to Prompto briefly, before something seems to dawn on him and he blinks, and then his eyes widen. “Oh… _oh!_ I-I see… sorry, I didn’t—”

Regina laughs and waves it off, however. “It’s fine, silly. C’mon; let’s have some fun, kay?”

And have fun they do; even though it hurts him to talk about Noct, still, despite how many stories he’s already told Regina, he’s not the only one sharing his experiences with the Crown Prince of Lucis. Everyone there has their own stories to tell, and the biggest part of the day is spent just talking, recalling memories that Prompto would’ve never wanted to bring up… like how Ignis suddenly mentions how, during their descent in Costlemark, Noct had gotten Prom out of a bad situation and Prom having joked something about being saved by a prince.

At which point Noct had responded with “Go back to sleeping, Beauty.”

 _Gods!_ He hadn’t even known Iggy heard that one… that had been fucking embarrassing…

But at least it makes Regina and her friends laugh.

The snacks they’re all munching up are all of Noct’s favorites, and even though, in normal situation, Prompto would never indulge himself in so much food… he’s willing to make an exception just this once, if only to feel like Noct was still there with them…

There were no presents, of course, but even so, it feels right to be together like this. He’s half-tempted to offer they sing one of those lame birthday songs for Noct, but he shakes it off because really, that’s only fun when Noct is there personally so he can be embarrassed over having the song sung for him.

…Six… he misses him so badly…

 

As night falls, Ignis retreats to the kitchen to prepare dinner, which, again, consists of all of Noct’s favorites; primarily Grilled wild Barramundi with Mother and Child Rice Bowl, and everyone’s laughing and just having fun as they eat…

…no, wait… not everyone…

Regina isn’t actually joining in on the conversation anymore and she’s absently poking at her rice, pushing it through the greasy sauces with no real purpose (that Prompto can see). The expression on her face seems… lost, almost. It’s… familiar, and yet it’s also not. At least, not on his daughter’s face.

“Princess?” Prompto calls out, and Regina jumps in surprise, gaze snapping up. “Are you okay?”

“Huh… ah, y-yeah, I’m fine,” she says as she scoops up some more rice. “Just… I wish… I just wish he could be here with us… yanno?”

Prompto tries not to let his own pain show on his face, though he’s not sure how well he fares with that. He sees Terry throw her friend a slight, worried look, but doesn’t say anything on the matter. Ignis, however, does.

“I’m certain that Noct would’ve preferred to be here with us, as well. However, it won’t do to worry about things we cannot change… as much as we wish things were different.”

“…Right…”

Prompto tries very hard not to frown openly at his daughter’s rather “lukewarm” response. He’s getting the feeling like there’s something she’s keeping from him… but he quickly shakes it off again. It won’t do to worry about things like that, and he’s sure that, before long, his daughter will be back to her cheery self once all of this is behind them.

When everyone’s finished, Ignis asks if everyone wants dessert, and of course, Iris is one of the first to say she definitely does, and this makes Gladio laugh. Domi is next by asking if dessert happens to be the source of the smell that he’d picked up on when they arrived. Libby isn’t usually one for dessert, but Terry convinces her to take one anyway.

…only Regina remains silent.

Prompto doesn’t mention it as Ignis goes to collect the tray with dessert, but he does look at her in worry, hoping that his little girl will be alright. He isn’t sure why, but this entire celebration seems to be weighing on her much more than it should…

He has no time to worry more about it, since just then Ignis puts the hefty tray on the table.

“ _Mmmm…_ Oh. Em. Gee, those smell _soooo_ good!” Domi exclaims, almost tapping his feet along the floor in his excitement.

“Heh. No kidding,” Terry says as she immediately swipes one and, without waiting to be given the okay, she take a big bite from it, much to the affront of Libby. “ _Damn!_ ” she exclaims only moments after swallowing. “ _Tastes_ good, too!”

“Really?” Domi asks, though he probably isn’t that surprised, and he cautiously lifts up one of the small cakes and looks it over. When he takes a bite, it’s considerably more moderate than Terry, but he doesn’t wait until he’s finished it to let his enjoyment be known, as he starts humming and tapping his socked heels against the floor. “ _Delicious~_ ”

“Dominatio, please refrain from talking with your mouth full,” Libby points out as she takes her own cake after everyone else has. She’s one of the last to take a bite, and she gives a small hum of appreciation. “Interesting…” she says after swallowing. “I don’t think I’ve ever tasted something like this before.”

Ignis chuckles as the friends enjoy their cakes – and he almost laughs openly when Libby smacks Terry’s hand audibly to keep her from finishing all the cakes off herself. Gladio doesn’t seem to care as much at first glance, but there’s definitely a hint of a smirk there, while Iris isn’t even trying to hide it.

Prompto, meanwhile, takes small bites of his own cake, wanting to savor it for as long as possible. It’s been almost 20 years since the last time they had these, and while the ingredients were a little easier to come by now, it felt… wrong, somehow, to enjoy them like this without Noct. Even now, despite their best intentions, Prompto couldn’t help but feel like they shouldn’t be doing this. He knows it’s a stupid thought… but it just isn’t the same…

“Hey, Regina,” Iris calls out suddenly, making Prompto blink his eyes open (when did he close them?). “Aren’t you going to eat yours? They taste best when they’re hot.”

Regina’s looking up at Iris, and the expression on her face is… actually Prompto isn’t sure what kind of expression it is. She doesn’t do this for long, though, as she turns back to her own cake. And then when she speaks, it feels… wrong. “…right… of course…”

She takes a heavy breath then, before she lifts up the cake and takes a decent chunk off of it.

As she chews on the bite, Libby speaks up to address Ignis. “If I may ask, Ignis, these cakes have a rather unique taste. What is in them?”

Domi is humming and adds his own question. “It kinda tastes like some sort of berry juice… is it?”

Ignis chuckles in response as he adjusts his shades – not to see better, but rather out of habit. “Correct; it does in fact contain berries.”

“Oh yeah? What kind?” Terry asks curiously.

“…Ulwaat berries from Tenebrae.”

Silence falls over the room then, because it wasn’t Ignis who spoke those words… Regina did.

“Ulwaat….?” Domi repeats curiously, but Libby and Iggy are frowning in confusion.

As Libby pushes her glasses back up her nose, she asks, as everyone wants to ask, Prompto’s sure: “How do you know what they’re called, Regina? And on that note, how do you know where they are from?”

Regina isn’t looking up at her friend; she’s just looking down at the floor, her cake held so lightly that it looks like it’s about to fall out from her fingers at any moment. Her bangs are hiding her eyes, so it’s difficult to read her expression… but Prompto swears he sees her trembling…

“…I…”

It’s the only thing she can get out, as her trembling is becoming more and more obvious. So obvious, in fact, that Prompto’s sure even Iggy would notice. She tries to talk several times more… before the cake slips frim her fingers and hits the floor and she abruptly rises to her feet.

“Sorry, I… I don’t feel so good…” she says, holding a hand to her head. Her eyes are shut and she almost appears to be in pain. “I… I think I’m just gonna lay down for a bit…”

“Princess…!” Prompto says immediately as he gets up and hurries after her as she makes her way to the stairs. Thankfully he’s able to grab her by the arm before she can disappear up the stairs, though he isn’t sure initially what he wants to tell her now that he’s got her there. That hesitation lasts for only a moment, though, as his worry wins out over everything else. “Sweetie, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I just got a headache, really. Sorry if I ruined everything…”

Now Prompto knows evasion when he sees/hears it; living at Noct’s side has allowed him to hone in on those traits much faster than most, and even though she was clearly trying not to sound evasive, that’s exactly what she was doing… hell, she was even doing it _exactly_ like Noct tended to do; by expressing guilt over (possibly) messing things up.

“Sweetheart…” he calls softly, gently squeezing her arm. “There’s no need to be afraid…”

“I’m not afraid,” she points out immediately, and he can feel her muscles tightening under his hand.

“Then why are you running away?” he asks, and he’s grateful that the others are staying out of this for the moment; they really don’t need that.

“I’m not _running away_.”

“Yes you _are_ , princess,” he presses, moving closer and resting a hand on her shoulder. “Sweetie, you don’t need—”

“I’m _FINE!!_ ” she suddenly screams and – within a second – she spins around and abruptly smacks his arms away.

What happens next takes only a moment (10 seconds, max); Prompto stumbles back in alarm, but as he does he puts his foot down wrong and it slips out from under him so swiftly it unbalances him, he instinctively tries to regain his balance by spinning his arms, but it’s no use as he’s too far off balance for it to help and he falls backwards with a shout of alarm. He remembers hearing a collective shout of his name as he falls… and the last thing he sees before the darkness swallows him is the horrified expression on Regina’s face.

 

Prompto’s not sure how long he had been out, but when he opens his eyes again, the first thing he’s aware of is that his head’s pounding and that the room is spinning, making him shut his eyes again with a slight groan. He tries not to move too move too much, planning to wait until the headache had passed.

“You awake, Prompto?”

Even through the myriad that is his brain just then, there’s no way for Prompto to mistake that voice. Wearily, he dragged one of his eyes open and glanced off to the side, where the voice came from. “Barely…” he says to Gladio, holding a hand to his temple. “What happened?”

“Bumped your head on the table coming down,” says Gladio, and that certainly explains the headache. And as he reaches around he feels the gauze that’s wrapped around his head. “So how bad’s your head pounding?”

“Like a pair of miners hitting it with a mallet over and over… or a jackhammer… either or…”

That makes Gladio laugh and Prompto can barely manage a smile of his own, but he drops it when his head starts pounding like mad again and he groans as he cradles his head in both hands now. He still feels disoriented, but he thinks his head’s clear enough to know the current situation well enough to ask what he asks next.

“Is Noct beating himself up over what happened?”

Gladio’s not answering and Prompto’s not sure why, but he’s a little too concerned with trying not to groan too loudly because of the pain in his head. He must’ve _really_ hit his head hard for it to _still_ hurt…

“…what are you talking about?” Gladio asks then, but there’s a hint of… something there? He’s not sure, it’s so hard to figure out with his head continuously pounding like this. He actually feels like he’s about to be sick…

“Just… coz he keeps doing that when… gah, never mind…” he groans as he cradles his head in both hands. “Ugh… Gladio, mind if I… just take it easy for a while…?”

He _really_ just needs a rest… just for a bit…

Maybe after he feels better he can go apologize to Noct…

 

His head’s still pounding when he wakes again, though thankfully not as badly as before. Gladio isn’t in the room when he wakes, and it doesn’t really surprise him, but eh, you never know.

Once he’s sure he’s not gonna throw up as soon as he moves, he sits up and climbs out of bed. It’s night time, he notices when he glances outside the window, and he absently wonders if the guys are already asleep, so he decides to head out and find out just that. He makes sure to move slow, though; just so he doesn’t make himself nauseous.

When he gets out of the room, he immediately spots the light that’s still on at the bottom of the stairs, so Prompto slowly walks down and then peeks into the living room, wondering who’s still awake at this time of night. And somehow he’s not surprised.

“Still up, buddy?” he chuckles softly, trying not to upset his head by speaking too loudly.

Noct blinks and looks up from where he’d been sitting on the couch, leaning forward on his knees the way he always did when he was lost in deep thought and wanted to figure something out. He seems a bit surprised to see Prompto up, but he doesn’t bring that up, because hey, he’s up too, so who’s he to judge?

“…couldn’t sleep…” he admits as he lowers his head again, looking away from Prompto to look back down at the floor.

Prompto tilts his head, a bit confused, because there’s something… different about Noct’s voice. But maybe that’s just due to the headache messing things up for him. So he shakes it off and goes over to sit beside him, making sure there’s a little bit of space between them, just in case he’s not feeling up to touching right now, because, yeah, Noct’s got those moments where he just doesn’t want to be touched.

“Wanna talk ‘bout it?” Prompto offers, even though the words rarely get him anywhere. Noct doesn’t like talking about his dreams; says it makes them feel more _real_ somehow… weirdo.

“No…”

“Kay.”

Prompto decides to lean back on the couch, because he’s still a little tired, but he doesn’t feel like heading back to bed to get some proper shuteye. So he stays there and wonders absently if he can just fall asleep here…

“…your head okay?”

“Huh…? …Oh! Yeah, yeah, it’s fine…”

He doesn’t mention how it’s still pounding, because Noct doesn’t need to know that…

“…cool.”

A small smile played on his face as Noct scooted over and then rested his head on Prompto’s shoulder. Rather than mention the gesture, Prompto leans his head sideways until it rests on top of Noct’s, quietly enjoying their time they have left.

Because… yeah… he knows it’s about to end soon…

He doesn’t want to bring it up. He _really_ doesn’t… but… he feels like it might be the reason why Noct is still awake…

“…nervous?”

“…mm?”

“Bout tomorrow…” he elaborates, as much as he doesn’t want to. The thought just… it hurts. “We’re heading to Altissia first thing in the morning, after all…”

Noct doesn’t answer right away. In fact, he seems almost confused for a while, looking up at Prompto from under his bangs, like he’s trying to determine just what it was the blonde was referring to. And Prompto, the coward that he is, doesn’t dare say anything else on the matter.

Maybe he and Noct are the same like that… like they think talking about it makes things _real_ …

…except it’s very true in Prompto’s case…

“…are you asking me… or yourself?”

The words are sudden and very quiet, as if they hadn’t been intended to be said, but he heard them anyway. He blinks curiously as the words register, but he takes a moment to respond, and he ends up chuckling mirthlessly.

“…lil bit of both…?”

It’s not really an answer; more of a question, since he’s now as unsure of his original question as Noct seems to be. And following the answer/question, the silence stretches on for much longer than he’d like, but he also doesn’t want to break it first, for fear of messing everything up.

“…it’s not…” Noct suddenly whispers, and Prompto blinks, curious, but he says nothing and waits for Noct to finish. “…like I can just say… ‘I need more time’…”

Prompto frowns sadly, knowing exactly what Noct means with that. “…we can ask Iggy to delay…”

“…you know we can’t…”

“…right…”

Of course not… there’s no way they can… not anymore. They’ve been on the road for so long already, and if they wasted any more time, then, surely, they’d lose _everything_ …

They _had_ to do this… _had_ to…

“…I’ll miss you…”

“…don’t say that…”

“But—!”

“Don’t.”

Prompto’s not given the chance to say anything else, as Noct moves his head back briefly, and lightly pecks his cheek.

“Stop acting like you’re never gonna see me again… or that it’s gonna be the end of the world…”

“…sure feels like it…”

“ _Promptoooo_ …”

Prompto smiles as Noct reaches over and starts to poke at his sides, and he laughs as he tries to avoid the poking, but Noct’s relentless and before long, Prompto’s on his back on the couch, giggling and laughing with Noct hovering over him, laughing and smirking about as badly as he is. He’s trying hard not to ruin the moment, because they only get so few moments like this, but it’s so hard…

“…Noct?”

“…yeah?”

He tries to speak, tries to open his mouth to say words, but the words end up getting caught in the back of his throat. He tries to breathe in deeply, but he almost chokes when he exhales, and his eyes feel like they’re burning. When he blinks, he doesn’t realize he’s crying until Noct’s reaching out and wiping the tears away with his thumb, shushing him softly and kissing him to his forehead, his eyes, his nose, his cheeks…

“… _please_ …” The word’s out before he has the chance to even properly think about it. “…promise me I can stay with you… that you won’t forget me… _please_ …”

Noct watches him for the longest time, a silent, thoughtful, expression on his face, before he smiles so softly that Prompto falls in love all over again.

“Of course I won’t, silly,” he murmurs, and he leans in then, but there seems to be a hint of hesitation there before he kisses him full on his lips, and Prompto whines almost pathetically when he does. It’s short, but oh so sweet and Prompto hiccups amidst his soft sobs. “How could I ever? _I love you_ …”

Prompto’s able to smile, a genuine smile, finally, and he takes a deep breath before he whispers, as if talking any louder will break this beautiful moment. “I love you, too, Noct…”

Noct smiles at him and then lightly nudges Prompto further to the back of the couch, before he lays down next to him. “Go to sleep, Prom… we gotta get up early tomorrow…”

He wants to, definitely… but…

“But… what about…?”

“I don’t care… let ‘m see for all I care…”

Prompto wants to object, he really does, but when Noct solemnly but firmly tells him to sleep again, he gives up and allows himself to succumb to sleep, though not before wrapping his arms around Noct’s shoulders.

“I… I love you…” he whispers softly, on the brink of sleep already.

He almost doesn’t catch the words whispered before he falls under… almost…

“ _Go back to sleeping, Beauty…_ ”

The words make him smile one final time before his consciousness is dragged under once more.

 

When Prompto wakes up next, it’s to someone shaking him by the shoulder firmly and he groans because he doesn’t want to get up yet. His head’s no longer pounding, but that doesn’t mean he wants to get up.

“Ngh… 5 more minutes, Iggy…” he grumbles, because, surely, it’s _always_ Ignis waking them, so why wouldn’t it be now?

“Mr. Argentum! _Please_ wake up! This is serious!”

…wait… he recognizes that voice…

He groans and blinks open his eyes toward whoever had just woken him, but it takes a few minutes until a name comes to him. “…Domi?”

Domi breathes in slight relief, but the look on his face barely shifted, which was a tad worrisome. “Oh thank the Six… sir, you need to get up! Regina’s missing!”

Those words had him bolting upright almost immediately, with a startled cry, before he scrambles off of the couch – also _ow!_ That was his neck and back cracking from the awkward positioning – and he looks to Domi, who is looking about as frazzled as Prompto feels.

“What happened?!” he asks, and maybe it’s a dumb question to ask, but it’s the only one that comes to mind other than “What do you mean ‘missing’?!”

“I-I don’t know! Sh-she wasn’t with us when we woke up and she’s not at her usual fishing spot and-and she’s not picking up her phone… and Dia’s gone, too!”

“ _Shit!_ ”

If that’s true, then Regina literally could’ve gone anywhere as soon as she hit the road’s pavement. Unless they had a faint idea as to where she might’ve gone, then it’d be impossible to find her.

“Prompto.”

Upon the call, Prompto snaps his head toward the voice and he’s never been more glad to see Ignis. Because, surely, Iggy always had an idea on what to do… right?

“Ignis… what… what do we do?” he got out, whilst trying not to hyperventilate because of his oncoming anxiety attack. He doesn’t need that right now!

“Prompto, calm down,” Ignis said firmly. “Do you not still have the tracking app installed?”

Prompto’s eyes immediately go wide in alarm and realization as, _yes_ , he did still have that app installed from back when Regina would wander around Lestallum on her own! Sure, he hadn’t used it in _years_ , since she eventually started coming back on her own, but he’d never thought to clean up space by removing the app.

He almost drops his phone when he nearly yanks it from his pocket, and his fingers fiddle with the setting before he finally gets the app opened. It takes a few moments to connect, as it always does, and he prays that she’s actually carrying her phone with her. Because what if she doesn’t carry it with her and just set it to silent so that no one would hear it ring and—

Prompto almost screams at his own doom thinking and he focuses instead on the app as it begins a sweeping search…

And then it’s got a location and Prompto almost sighs in relief.

“Got it!”

 

Once they have a proper lock on Regina’s location, Libby, Terry and Domi take their Chocobos and go on ahead, while Prompto, Gladio and Ignis take the car. Iris stays behind, just in case Regina decides to come home on her own. It takes them slightly longer by car, even if Prompto is practically speeding, though, really, who’s keeping score nowadays?

Anyway, when they arrive, Regina’s friends are already there, at the foot of an almost steep wall of rocks, conversing silently until the three men approached them.

“Did you find her?” Prompto asks immediately upon reaching them.

“Well… yeah, kinda…” Terry mumbles, rubbing the back of her head while looking… well mildly uncertain.

“What do you mean ‘kinda?” Gladio asks, frowning in suspicion, though Ignis immediately smacks him to the arm to shut him up.

“Um, w-well…” Domi manages to get out, but it’s Libby who speaks up.

“She’s up there,” she says, pointing straight up – toward the very top of the rocky mountain.

“Wait… how did she?!” Gladio gets out, but Libby shakes her head to show she doesn’t know the answer to that.

Not that Prompto wastes too much more time on the conversation, mind you…

“M-Mr. Argentum!”

“H-hey, Prompto!!”

Prompto doesn’t even look up at the shouts of Domi and Gladio, focusing instead on scaling the rocky wall as best as he can without the proper equipment. He’s not sure if he’s ever climbed anything this fast before, but he’s not about to stop and time himself; he’s got more important matters to deal with.

And somehow – don’t ask him how! – he manages to make it up the rocks and onto the plateau at the very top, and he’s out of breath and feels like his lungs are about to collapse on him, but when he looks up, he breathes in relief and he allows a smile.

“Regina,” he calls out as he stands up and slowly walks over. “Princess, what are you doing up here?”

Regina doesn’t answer him; in fact, she doesn’t even look up at him when he spoke. This, immediately, puts Prompto on edge and he pauses in his steps.

“…sweetheart?”

“…”

Prompt isn’t sure what to say then, because his little girl is standing _way_ too close to the edge, and he’s afraid that, if he does anything wrong, she may lose her balance and fall, but he knows he can’t let her stay there, either. He tries to think of something he can do to make sure she won’t accidentally fall, but in the end, he’s still at a lot, so he takes a heavy breath and steps forward again, though still slowly.

“Regina, honey… it’s not safe over there… c’mon…” he calls out softly, hoping that she actually heard him.

However, she doesn’t move or respond.

“Sweetie, _please_ …” he begs of her, and he’s almost within reach of her, and all that goes through his head are his own doom thoughts of what could potentially happen…

But when he reaches out to touch her shoulder, she doesn’t even jump. After a moment more, though, she finally turns around to face him, though the look on her face is… off. And yet the expression is, at the same time, shockingly familiar.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” he murmurs softly, placing his other hand on her other shoulder, hoping that this will help her snap out of… whatever it wrong with her.

She blinks then (maybe in response, and maybe not)… and it makes a tear roll down her cheek.

“Re-Regina?” Prompto stammers out, but before he can ask anything else, Regina steps forward and, without a word, drops her head on Prompto’s shoulder. He jumps briefly at the sudden move, but then he relaxes and wraps his arms around his little girl, holding her close even if he doesn’t understand where this suddenly came from.

“…I’m sorry…”

Prompto blinks at the whispered words, shocked, but he shakes it off and smiles as he rubs her back. “Sssh… it’s okay, sweetheart, it’s okay… c’mon… let’s go home… kay?”

“…home…” Regina whispers softly, almost thoughtfully, before she lightly nods her head against her Dad’s shoulder. “…yeah… I… I wanna go home…”

Prompto smiles and, carefully, begins to lead Regina back down.

Of course, everyone starts fussing over her when they’re back on solid ground, and Regina’s apologizing over and over again, not saying much else in response to anything, and this worries Prompto, quite a bit. Because this isn’t like his little girl…

But as they head home again, with Regina in the backseat because they just want to be sure she’ll be okay, she does something she hasn’t done in years; she falls asleep in the backseat, and doesn’t wake up until they reach home again.

It’s okay, really… but there’s just something about the whole situation that feels… off, and he can’t understand why or how.

He just hopes that things will be okay…

**Author's Note:**

> Dun-dun-duuuuuuuun. Gee, I wonder what just happened...  
> Anyway, two more stories are up for vote, so take your pick for the next one.
> 
> -Tsunami; when the seas just come up and swallow you whole  
> -Gaia's Wrath; because sometimes the earth is just angry with you  
> -Imagination; dreams are cool… because anything can happen there (direct sequel to “Relaxation”)  
> -Quis sum; how does one deal with a loss of identity? (companion to “Memento Mori”)  
> -Gift; giving is always more satisfying than receiving


End file.
